In the art of roofing, different options are known for finishing (sealing and weatherproofing) the deck surface of a roof.
One known roof finishing technique is the application of a roof coating, typically in the form of a polymeric (e.g. acrylic) composition applied to the roof in a flowable liquid state and left to dry into its hardened solid form, and often being an elastomeric composition to provide a resilient rubber-like consistency in its finished state. Acrylic roof coatings are common, but other polymeric compositions are also employed.
Among such coating-based solutions are single-coat solutions employing only the liquid coating without any additional reinforcement, and poly-coat solutions in which a layer of reinforcement fabric is laid out over a base coat of the coating substance, and then covered with a subsequent topcoat of the coating substance. The reinforcement fabric is typically provided in long spooled sheets for laying therein in strip-wise fashion over the base coat.
Another known roof finishing technique is the application of a roof membrane, for example a polymer modified bitumen membrane, which is also sold in long spooled sheets for laying thereof in strip-wise fashion over a pre-applied layer of a flowable liquid adhesive. Among such membrane-based solutions are torch-applied membranes requiring application of heat thereto as the membrane is laid out over a pre-applied layer of non-solvent adhesive to achieve proper bonding to the roof deck, and cold-applied membranes where solvent-based adhesives are used for the pre-applied adhesive layer to eliminate the need for heating of the membrane by torch or other means.
Conventional application techniques for these various roof-finishing options are labour and time intensive, with workers using manually operated hand tools to lay down the coating or adhesive, and in the instance of reinforced coatings or membranes, then manually rolling out the reinforcement fabric or membrane sheets overtop the adhesive, and in the case or torch-applied membranes, using handheld propane torches to heat the membrane during the layout process.
Canadian Patent No. 2,514,688 discloses a membrane applicator for laying out a spooled roofing membrane and includes a multi-point burner for torch-applied membranes. However, the device lacks any means for first coating the roof with adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,328 discloses another heater-equipped membrane applicator, which in addition to heating the membrane sheet being laid down, also heats the seams of an adjacent previously laid sheet to heat-seam the two sheets together. Again, no means for pre-coating of the roof with adhesive is included.
Additional heater equipped membrane applications are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,347,244 and 8,262,833, which once again lack means for first dispensing an adhesive layer on which to subsequently lay the membrane.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,500,583 discloses a machine for laying out roofing felt and applying hot tar thereto as the felt is laid out by using a spreader roller that is fed the hot tar and is biased against the spooled felt.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,241 discloses an apparatus for adhering a rolled sheet of vapour barrier to a roof deck. In one embodiment, adhesive is rolled onto the underside of the vapour barrier as it is spooled off the roll. In other embodiments, an adhesive reservoir has one or more openings in the bottom to gravitationally deposit adhesive on the vapour barrier or the roof deck.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,781 discloses an apparatus for laying roofing felt and simultaneously dispensing adhesive to the roof deck via a set of spray nozzles and a handheld touch-up wand.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,376,818 discloses another example of an apparatus for simultaneously laying a sheet of roofing material and applying adhesive in a sprayed fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,804 discloses a method and apparatus for applying adhesive and roofing membrane material to a roof, but does so via a carriage suspended from an overhead track system, whereby the solution is only suitable for use in a manufacturing facility during production of prefabricated or modular homes.
Despite such prior attempts to simplify the roofing process, such solutions have not been widely adopted, demonstrating a need for improved and alternative solutions for simplified application of roofing materials.